Honeywell announced that it will design and install the
core process and safety systems for a new plant under
construction by Hoku Materials, Inc., a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Hoku Scientific, Inc. that is planned to
produce polysilicon, a key material needed to produce
solar panels. The solar power market is currently estimated
to be a $10 billion business, with potential to expand
to $30 billion by 2010. Serving as the main automation
contractor and sole automation equipment supplier, Honeywell
will engineer an integrated solution that will help the
Pocatello, Idaho plant produce 3,500 tons of polysilicon
per year. The system will include distributed control,
batch management and safety technology.